https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/erule.jsp?id=2013July 20, 2017
Lake Roosevelt white sturgeon fishery to close July 31
Action: Closes fishing for white sturgeon in Lake Roosevelt.
Species affected: White sturgeon.
Locations and effective dates: Lake Roosevelt.
From Grand Coulee Dam to China Bend Boat Ramp (including the Spokane River from Highway 25 Bridge upstream to 400 feet below Little Falls Dam, Colville River upstream to Meyers Falls and the Kettle River upstream to Barstow Bridge). Closes July 31, 2017, one hour after official sunset. From China Bend Boat Ramp upstream to the Canadian Border (white sturgeon spawning sanctuary). This section is closed to sturgeon fishing and will not open Aug. 1 as previously planned.
Reason for action: At the beginning of the season, there were approximately 10,250 white sturgeon available for harvest in Lake Roosevelt to non-tribal anglers over the next several years. By July 31, recreational anglers are expected to have harvested approximately 3,500 white sturgeon. Due to higher than anticipated catch, the department is closing this fishery earlier than planned this season to allow for additional sturgeon fisheries on Lake Roosevelt in the coming years.
Other information: Lake Roosevelt fisheries are co-managed between WDFW, Spokane Tribe of Indians and Colville Confederated Tribes. The co-managers negotiated a harvest plan that allows each a portion of the sturgeon harvest. Neither tribe has caught their portion of sturgeon and plan to continue fishing after July 31. Sport anglers are asked to be respectful both of tribal fishing and of ongoing sturgeon research being conducted by the state and tribes.
Sport anglers will have opportunities in the future to harvest the remainder of the state?s portion of white sturgeon in Lake Roosevelt. Anglers are reminded that fishery dates, times, slot limits, daily limits and annual limits may be adjusted in the coming years to ensure that a sustainable population of sturgeon is maintained in Lake Roosevelt and to ensure equitable access to the fishery resource amongst the three co-managers.
Information Contact: Chris Donley, WDFW Region 1 Fish Program Manager, (509) 892 1001, ext. 307 or Bill Baker, WDFW District 1 Fisheries Biologist, (509) 684-2362, ext. 23.
